Women's experience with early labour management at home vs. in hospital: A randomised controlled trial

Abstract

Objectiveto compare experiences with early labour assessment and support at home vs. by telephone. Designa randomised controlled trial of nurse home visits vs. telephone support for assessment and support of women in early labour. Settinghospitals serving obstetrical populations in metropolitan and suburban Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Participantshealthy nulliparous women in labour at term with uncomplicated pregnancies participating in the third and fourth year of the trial. Interventionwomen were randomised to receive early labour assessment and support at home (n=241) and or to receive assessment and support by telephone (n=182). Measurementthe Early Labour Experience Questionnaire (ELEQ), a 26-item self-administered questionnaire that measures women's experience with early labour care across three domains: emotional well-being, emotional distress and perceptions of nursing care. Findingswomen who received home visits rated their early labour experience more positively overall compared to women who received telephone support (103.14±12.45 vs. 99.67±13.11, p<.01)including perceptions of nursing care that they received (38.64±2.90 vs. 36.82±4.09, p<.001). However, women's affective experiences did not differ. Key conclusionsearly labour nursing care provided at home is associated with a more positive experience of early labour compared to telephone support.